Wall construction



Aug.11,1936. HW, HOWELL 2,050,609-

WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 10, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 1 ff? Ven/02 H. W/'owe www Aug. 11, 1936. H 'w HOWELL V 2,050,609

WALL CONSTRUCTI ON Filed Nov. l0, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v www Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in wall construction for light steel frame structures and to improvements in sections or units which may be assembled together in the construction of these walls.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplied cellular construction for walls and partitions of buildings in which the frame is built up of a plurality of assemblable standard units. A suitable plaster is applied to the faces of the frame, which plaster acts as one of the structural elements in this form of Wall construction. In the forms of light steel frame wall construction 15. now in use the steel frame must be erected as a separate operation, and all joints of the members must be bolted, riveted or welded, and the wall must have diagonal bracing, the joints of which must be bolted, riveted or welded. In my form of construction the units are so shaped and designed that the strength and rigidity may be vaccomplished without the necessity of bolting, riveting or welding the individual units together other than anchoring the units at the bottom. The necessary diagonal bracing is contained within the assembled units. In most forms of wall construction the plaster faces are applied as a finish only. In my form of wall construction the plaster faces act as structural .elements in unison with the frame for resisting stresses.

In the preferred form of construction each side of the wall there is a reinforced plaster face, which may be considered as two reinforced plaster walls connected at frequent in- ,tervals :by transverse webs which rare adequately tied to the Walls along each edge, so that .the walls will mutually cooperate with each other and the webs when under stress, instead of act- 0 ingmas two independent walls. To this end the object of this invention is to provide an assemblable unit of standard construction which is so designed that it may be easily, quickly and cheaply manufactured in such a way that the connection between the two walls by means of the web is assured.

While some attempts have been made to deyelop na wallconstruction consisting of two plaster walls connected by transversely extending webs the connection between each wall and the web `has heretofore usually been established on 4the assembly such as vbyA Wiring, Wire lacing, and the like. When the connection is postponed until the time of assembly it is diicult to form i5 an adeguate connection between the webs and the two plaster walls without going to a great deal of expense and trouble. The present invention in assuring a proper connection between the two walls and the webs overcomes this diiilculty.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved wall construction made up of assemblable frame units and to provide a novel f and advantageous means for forming a bondstone, which bondstone is means of securing the 10 units in place and eliminates the necessity of bolting the frame together.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description, and specifically pointed out 1515 in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a corner formed by a Wall made in accordance with the present 20 invention. l 1

Fig. 2 is a vertical, transverse section through one of the walls shown in Fig, 1. l

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through one of the walls shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section illustrating a modified form of construction.

Fig. 5 is an isometric view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating the manner in which interior partitions may be built employing the present 3@ invention.

Fig. 6 is a perspectivefview of one of the assemblable units that may be assembled in forming the wall embodying the invention.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an alternative 35 form of unit that may be employed. Referring to the accompanying drawings,

wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, the improved Wall construction is made up of a plurality of assemblabla units.

In the preferred form of construction each unit consists of a transverse -sheet metal web l0 having at its side edges longitudinally extending sections il and i2 of expanded metal or like 45 material suitable for the application of plaster.

The `w'ebl i@ may be imperforate as shown or it may be perforated but if perforated the perforations should be such as not to materially weaken the sheet metal web. The sections of expanded metal indicated at Il ,and I2 may be formed integral with web i0 by cutting .the Vslits in the sides of the web. and then expanding the slitted metal in accordance with the well known practice of forming expanded metal. VIf separate 5 5 expanded metal sections are to be attached to the side edges of web I these should be welded along their edges to the web in the course of construction of these individual units, thus rendering the expanded metal sections integral with the web.

It is important to have a good connection between the expanded metal sections and the web assured and, consequently, if the expanded metal sections are not formed truly integral with the web they should be rendered integral therewith by welding prior to the assembly of the units in making a wall.

On the bottom of the web I0 there may be formed one; or more anchoring lugs I3 which may be embedded in a concrete footing I4 at the time it is poured. Instead of these lugs, an alternative method of anchoring the bottom of each unit may be employed wherein the lugs are bent horizontally, as indicated at l5, and suitable anchoring bolts I6 pass therethrough into the footing. Any other suitable means for anchoring the webs to the footing may be employed.

In constructing the wall a plurality of these units are assembled together with the free edges of the sections l l and l2 overlapping slightly the expanded metal sections of adjacent units, as shown on Fig. 3. These overlapped portions may be secured together in any preferred manner, such as wiring, lacing, or spot welding. When the units are assembled they form the frame of the wall, the expanded metal sections running from the iioor to the ceiling. The webs ID, however, do not extend quite as high as the expanded metal sections and their top edges il' are disposed a sufficient distance below the top edges of the expanded metal sections to accommodate a bondstone. A sheet metal aligner I8 is positioned on top of the webs i0 forming the bottom of a channel defined by the tops of the extended expanded metal sections. At the corners these aligners overlap. Tie wires I9 are passed through the opposed expanded metal sections above the aligner and tied. These wires prevent the spreading of the expanded metal sections when the concrete is poured; also act as support for the longitudinal reinforcing bars 28 in the channel, also as anchors for the expanded metal to the faces of the bondstone. Concrete 2| is then poured into the 4channel thus formed on the aligner I8 and embeds the tie wires and reinforcing bars, thus forming a reinforced concrete bondstone the entire length of the wall, which securely anchors the units together and unifies the entire structure. The concrete when poured will work into the interstices of the expanded metal and thus anchor the expanded metal over the entire face of the bondstone.

Thereafter, coatings of plaster 22 and 23, respectively, are then applied to the two faces of the wall frame. These plaster faces act as iinish for the wall faces, also as structural elements of the wall. As structural elements they act as continuous flanges or stiifeners integrally bonded to webs I0 at each edge to prevent load carrying metal webs from buckling under vertical load.

To resist horizontal stresses parallel to the wall the entire wall acts as a boxed cantilever beam with the metal webs acting as stiffeners for the plaster faces at frequent intervals, which webs are an integral part of the expanded metal plaster reinforcement.

When the wall is thus completed it will be noted that the units have been assembled and substantially unied by the bondstone without the necessity of bolting, riveting or welding the individual units together other than making secure the overlapping expanded metal sections on the adjacent units; also that the wall consists of two spaced reinforced plaster walls 22 and 23 in combination with a plurality of vertical, transversely extending webs IU. The structural strength of the wall is dependent upon the rm connection of the edges of these webs to the opposed walls, which connections are established in the original manufacture of the unit. In other words, the separation of the opposed walls is not dependent upon any field-made connections.

In Figs. 4 and '7 I have illustrated an alternative form of construction wherein the unit is of U-shaped cross section as distinguished from the general Z-shaped cross section in Fig. '7. 'Ihe web is indicated at 25 having integral expanded metal sections 25 and 21 which either may be made truly integral with the web or rendered integral therewith by welding. These sections may be assembled as shown in Fig. 4 in the construction of the wall, gaining the same advantages as above described.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated the application of the invention to non-bearing partitions. In this form of construction units of either the shape shown in Fig. 6 or the shape shown in Fig. 7 may be assembled together over wood foot plates 36. The webs 3i having the adjacent integral expanded metal sections 32 may be shortened at their bottoms to accommodate the foot plates. Wood top plates 33 take the place of the bondstone, being supported upon the tops of the webs 3l. The tops and bottoms of the expanded metal sections may be nailed to the sides of these top and foot plates, respectively, after which the plaster coats 34 and 35 are applied.

From the above described constructions it will be appreciated that the units which are assembled to build a wall may be completely preformed at a suitable factory and easily and quickly erected at the building where they are assembled. Although tie wires, lacings, or the equivalent, may be employed in tying adjacent units together at the time of assembly, these connections are in no way relied upon to form connections between the opposed walls through the webs. Instead, this connection is formed by the integral connection between the expanded metal and the web, rendering the wall a monolithic structure wherein the two opposed plaster walls, which are important structural elements, cooperate together in withstanding loads as distinguished from acting independently, which is apt to be the case where lacings and wirings are used and relied upon to connect the walls with the webs.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An assemblable unit for wall constructions comprising a transversely arranged web of sheet metal, and longitudinally extending sections of expanded metal or the like integral with the side edges of the web, the top of the web being disposed below the Vtops of the sections so as to receive a bondstone thereon.

2. An assemblable unit for wall constructions comprising a transversely arranged web of sheet metal, and longitudinally extending sections of expanded metal or the like integral with the side edges of the web and extending thereabove, the bottom of the web being coterminous with the bottom of said sections with the exception of integral extensions forming anchoring means.

3. A wall comprising a plurality of assembled units, each unit comprising a transverse sheet metal web having at its side edges longitudinally extending sections of expanded metal integral therewith, the free edges of the sections being secured to the sections of adjacent units, and a strong plaster applied to the sections of the assembled units, the bottoms of the webs being coterminous with the bottom of said sections With the exception of integral extensions by which the Webs may be anchored to a footing.

4. A wall comprising a plurality of assembled units, each unit comprising a transverse sheet metal web having at its side edges longitudinally extending sections of expanded metal integral therewith, the free edges of the sections being secured to the sections of adjacent units, and a strong plaster applied to the sections of the assembled units, the tops of the Webs being disposed below the tops of the sections, and means forming a bondstone disposed thereon bonded with the plaster through the expanded metal.

5. A wall comprising a plurality of assembled units, each unit comprising a transverse sheet metal web having at its side edges longitudinally extending sections of expanded metal integral therewith, the free edges of the sections being secured to the sections of adjacent units, and a strong plaster applied to the sections of the assembled units, the to-ps of the webs being disposed below the tops of the sections, a sheet metal aligner supported on top of the Webs, means connecting the tops of opposed sections over the aligner, reinforcing bars on the cony necting means, and concrete on the aligner imbedding the connecting means and reinforcing bars thus forming a bondstone at the top of the wall.

6. A wall comprising a plurality of assembled units, each unit comprising a transverse sheet metal web having at its side edges longitudinally extending sections of expanded metal or the like extending above the top of the web, a concrete bondstone poured between the longitudinal sections adjacent the top thereof, and a strong 5 plaster applied to the outer sides of said sections and over the sides of the bondstone.

'7. A wall comprising a plurality of assembled units, each unit comprising a transverse sheet metal web having at its side edges longitudinally extending sections of expanded metal or the like,

a concrete bondstone poured between the longitudinal sections adjacent the top thereof, and a strong plaster applied to the outer sides of said sections and over the sides of the bondstone, said Webs having their tops terminating adjacent the bottom of the bondstone and serving to partially separate the bondstone and superposed loads.

8. A wall comprising a plurality of assembled units, each unit comprising a transverse sheet metal web having at its side edges longitudinally extending sections of expanded metal or the like extending above the top of the web, a sheet metal alignment resting upon the tops of the webs and disposed below the tops of the sections,

a concrete bondstone poured on the alignment and disposed between the tops of the sections, and a strong plaster applied to the outer sides of the sections and over the sides of the bondstone.

9. A wall comprising a plurality of assembled units, each unit comprising a transverse sheet metal web having at its side edges longitudinally extending sections of expanded metal or the like extending above the top of the web, a sheet metal alignment resting upon the tops of the webs and disposed below the tops of the sections, reinforcing means extending longitudinally and transversely across the space over the alignment, a concrete bondstone poured on the alignment and disposed between the tops of the sections, and a'strong plaster applied to the outer sides of the sections and over the sides of the bondstone.

HENRY W. HOWELL. 

